BELLERIVE FOUNDATION -

"Into the Blue"- retirement home for marine mammals - partly funded by the B.Foundation

HL AQUARIUM DOLPHIN DEFERRED FROM DRAFT

Byline: Dianne Dumanoski, Globe Staff

DD 11/06/90

SO BOSTON GLOBE (BOGL)

Edition: THIRD

Section: METRO

Page: 1

LP The New England Aquarium yesterday abandoned plans to send
one of its three performing dolphins to a Navy facility that does
research on dolphins and trains them for military work.
Under an agreement reached between the New England Aquarium
and an animal rights group, the fate of the dolphin, Rainbow, is
unclear, but animal rights advocates are urging that the animal be
sent to a Caribbean retirement home.

TX The agreement ends a lawsuit brought by Citizens to End Animal
Exploitation and Suffering, which named Rainbow as a plaintiff and
s According to staff members, the aquarium had originally
arranged to send Rainbow to the Navy's dolphin program because the
11-year-old male bottlenose is aggressive and does not get along
with the other two dolphins that perform in the daily shows.
When these plans became public in early September, however,
officials from animal welfare and animal rights groups protested
the possibility that the dolphin might be used for military
purposes.
Critics have campaigned against the Navy's $8 million-a-year
classified marine mammal program, raising objections about the
ethics of using animals to wage war.
The aquarium contended that it had an understanding with the
Navy that Rainbow was going to a research project.
Although yesterday's settlement applies only to Rainbow, the
aquarium's executive director, John Prescott, said he will probably
stop the practice of sending dolphins to the Navy, even though he
still believes that the Navy dolphin program provides excellent
facilities and care for its animals.
According to federal records, the aquarium has transferred
three other dolphins to the US Naval Ocean Systems Center in San
Diego over the past eight years.
"In a practical sense," Prescott said, "you don't need to
learn a lesson twice. Who needs the controversy?"
Prescott maintains that the aquarium followed federal
procedures in arranging Rainbow's transfer to the Navy and did
nothing illegal. Wise, however, says the legal questions raised by
the suit remain unresolved and he is looking for a new case to
challenge the way. "It's a no-win
situation." He said the aquarium decided to end the lawsuit for the
welfare of the animal. Rainbow needs a new home, Prescott noted,
and it wasn't possible to find him one while the lawsuit was
pending. A hearing had been scheduled for Nov. 13.
Now that Rainbow is not going to the Navy, Prescott said
the aquarium has been contacting facilities around the country to
see if any could take Rainbow. But none have space right now,
Prescott said. In the meantime, he said, Rainbow is physically
separated from the other two dolphins and performs solo segments in
the daily dolphin shows.
Prescott said he has no idea how long it will take before a
suitable place can be found for Rainbow. "He's one of the
friendliest we have," but since he's the sexually dominant member
of the aquarium's dolphin group, Prescott said, the male bottlenose
would be better off in a bigger colony.
"We're very concerned about what happens to Rainbow," said
Wise, so "we found a place for him in the Turks and Caicos
Islands," a British crown colony southeast of the Bahamas. Wise
said animal advocacy groups are about to open a dolphin retirement
home, which has a mile-square water enclosure.
"We think this is preferable for Rainbow rather than having to
spend the rest of his life in a small dolphin tank in a display
facility jumping through hoops for people," he said. "As Rainbow's
attorney, I insist that Rainbow go to a place that is good for
Rainbow."
Prescott rejects this proposal, saying it is "unacceptable"
because the facility is not licensed by the federal government or
inspected by federal inspectors.
But regardless, he added, "I can't fathom sending an animal
out of the jurisdiction of the United States."
Nancy Daves, a specialist in marine mammal issues with the
Animal Protection Institute, a national animal welfare group, says
the new facility might be an ideal place for a dol and Caicos facility is being supported and coordinated by a number
of different animals groups in the United States and Britain in
order to provide a place for dolphins now living in substandard
facilities. "Into the Blue," as the retirement home has been named,
will open shortly, she said, and the first dolphin retirees are
expected to arrive from Britain at the end of November.
Part of the funding for the effort, Daves said, is coming
from the Belle Rive Foundation in Geneva, which is run by Prince
* Sadruddin Aga Khan, the former high commissioner for refugees for
the United Nations.
If the aquarium is willing to release Rainbow, Daves said,
her group and the New England Anti-Vivisection Society have
committed to help raise the money to send him to the retirement
home.